A beautiful blend of hilarious and heartfelt moments

One of the rare dramas that made me laugh while shedding tears shows great direction and story telling. The last 2 episodes were the best at this and it was a joy to end a drama on a high and feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Acting was good and the characters of the main family were well fleshed out and you begin to see them in different light as the drama progresses. The interactions with each other were natural and it was fun seeing them bicker yet have each other’s back. While you start off thinking that one of the daughters was taken advantage of, it was beautifully told how this was far from the truth. While the mother seemed to rule the family with an iron fist, she loved them all fiercely and had many special moments with each of her daughters as she advised them and showed that she cared. A tiger mom that I can relate to.

A beautiful ending that has each daughter at different stages of their romance and not marrying all of them off is much appreciated so you feel that it is a life-goes-on story.

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Brilliant Season 1 !!

It is not often that you come across a drama that ends its first season nicely instead of just being an excuse to get past the 40-episode-cap rule on dramas. The ending didn’t leave you hanging but was complete in itself and made you look forward to season 2 to see how things will develop. That to me is a perfect way to have dramas that have season 2 and beyond. Kudos to the director!!

The FL was excellent! It was so refreshing to see her acting as a man. Her mannerisms were on point so all I had to do was get past her pretty face which was easy as it was explained that because she transformed her features so many times, she forgot how she looked like originally. I love her character and when she says she doesn’t want to hope for much so that she doesn’t get disappointed, it is so real to see that it is easier said than done when she has her heart broken.

Yes, there were little plot loopholes and cgi inconsistencies as with all other dramas, but there were easy to overlook as the storyline was so engaging. It just drew me in completely and I watched the first 10 episodes until the wee hours of morning.

Something little that stood out for me was positive eavesdropping. Usually, eavesdropping is used in dramas to create misunderstandings as only part of the message is heard. I was so happy to see the opposite here. The FL was talking about her first love and how he was like the moon (annd not a dusty jade) and his spirit animal relayed it back to him. So beautiful to see his tender loving smile when he heard this. The ML playing her love interest did superbly - you could see his joy, pain, frustration and jealousy and my heart broke when he could no longer cancel his engagement.

Another ML that I enjoyed watching was the demon. He was written very well and to see his many sides had me rooting for him and no longer seeing him as a villain. A classic bad boy with a touching past trope that was very well done.

I love the FL’s grandfather! Such a strong character and the actor playing him did a fantastic job especially in the final episode.

An ending that doesn’t see the FL paired off romantically with anyone and the reason for that is justified. So I am very much looking forward to Season 2 to see if her first love manages to get out of his marriage or if things will develop further with the demon ML. Either one and I would still be happy!

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Refreshingly Delicious Palace Drama

With a title that included the word delicacies, I was happy to feast my eyes on all the food related shots from preparation to cooking to eating!

This palace drama was different from the usual back stabbing and plotting ones I have watched in the past and it was a breath of fresh air for me. Instead you got supportive king and queen who didn’t make a fuss when they realised their son was falling in love with the female chef. And the usual sibling rivalry was replaced by supportive siblings be it the brothers or even the sister.

Romance was sweet and I felt it more from the ML who was good at expressing his shyness and love much better than the FL.

I watch this on Disney+ and was confused with Episode 17 which was labelled as an alternative ending but all the scenes shown in that extra episode was already shown earlier. Probably some editing issues as Episode 16 itself showed 2 different endings which boggled me and left me without a proper closure.

A simple drama that you will enjoy if you like food, a touch of romance and rarely found supportive royal family dynamics.

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Was that the end?

My first time finishing an enjoyable drama with this question as the closing credits continued on instead of the “next episode” button. Partially due to my expectation of Kdramas containing at least 16 episodes but mainly because I felt these were so many loose threads hanging in the air.

Why did the grandfather suddenly consent in the end? No follow through on how the rumours of them dating played out - did running away to the US solve everything? Second FL’s relationship with the father just ends like that? Engaged for a year and no sign of marriage?

Such a pity to end the drama this way.

Other than the last episode, I generally enjoyed this cute romcom as the story telling was a fresh take on the classic rich-guy poor-girl romance. I liked how both couples acknowledged their feelings and got together relatively early without too much misunderstandings or annoying drawn-out love triangles. Kisses were not too stingy and the couples even slept together so this drama should satisfy those looking for a fair bit of romance in their drama.

There’s talk about some additional episodes so hopefully I’ll get my questions answered then but as it stands, my low rating reflects my personal dislike of dramas with rushed endings or unanswered questions.

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Emotionally charged historical journey

The first few episodes were a bit of hit and miss for me as the sets did not look realistic enough and the acting was a bit stiff. Stick with it and you’ll soon be rewarded with nicer looking sets, mesmerising costumes and an engaging storyline as the romance starts building up.

It was interesting to see that most of the villains were not totally evil and had their own reasons for their actions and that they too had their own suffering. Because the drama is set over many decades, you could also see some characters going through many different changes, some for the better and some for the worst. While I hated Princess Ya, her heart-to-heart talk with Hao Lan and her love realisation in the end touched me.

I also enjoyed the many reveals throughout showed which gave an insight into how clever some of the characters were especially Lv Buwei, Hao Lan and Prince Yiren. They not only worked together towards a common goal but also did their fair share of baiting each other for different purposes (eg putting a hole in the Queen’s bedroom so she would have to stay at the King’s palace and she leaving the palace knowing he would come after her to bring her back). Even villains like the evil Zhao Queen was captivating as she understood so much more than the Zhao King and executed so many smart moves.

It’s a man’s world… such a sad underlying theme that many of female characters lamented. Although noble by birth or living as a princess, consort or queen, it was heart breaking to see how they were not happy primarily because of the many restrictions they faced and how their destiny was controlled by men in power.

The more I got pulled into this drama, the more emotional I got whenever I heard the opening theme song. Despite not understanding the lyrics, I teared up every time I heard the sad melody and haunting vocals.

One of the best writing in this drama was when Lv Buwei had his final conversation with the King of Qin. One of the most memorable (and frustrating) moment for me is how the King of Qin settled things on his own leading to Hao Lan misunderstanding him. I felt so sad for her as she was not able to get proper closure.

When the drama continued on with Hao Lan’s son ascending the throne, it became less engaging for me but still ok as I was curious to see how closely the story would follow the historical records.

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Lopsided Love

Perhaps this was THE drama to watch back in 2010 but watching it now more than a decade later, I was much less entertained with this drama compared to Crash Landing On You.

With CLOY, I could see and understand the budding romance between the leads although there were more reasons for the FL to fall in love with the ML.

With SG, it was clear to see that why the ML fell in love with the FL but I am struggling to understand how she fell in love with him when he constantly talked down to her and humiliated her.

The story was interesting in itself and the body swaps were well done. So I just had to keep ignoring the nagging feelings I had about “why does she love him?” in order to enjoy the drama. I’ve come to expect a little twist at the end of Korean dramas and this drama didn’t disappoint with its touching version.

Both leads acted well which kept me watching particularly the ML with his internal struggles of trying to figure out why he is attracted to the FL. The FL was a cool stuntwoman character and seeing her in action was very believable. Another plus point was seeing the ML looking so young after seeing his more mature self in CLOY. Definitely prefer him older with a squarer jawline. His younger self was the typical skinny pretty boy look which I am not keen on especially when he was wearing his designer track suits.

At times, I wished the FL would end up with Oska as he clearly treated her so much better all the time. But I knew it was wishful thinking since he is not the ML. Thankfully, it wasn’t written as a love triangle and Oska had his own love interest.

If you’re after a more balanced relationship in your romance drama, it’s best to look elsewhere.

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Gorgeous sets and costumes!!

Not a fan of this period of time in China as the costumes are not not flowy like in wuxia dramas and cannot appreciate the half bald hairdo for the men and finger accessory for the women BUT

The story was engaging, the sets evoked grandeur and costumes were richly embroidered.

As this was my introduction to palace drama, I was not put off by all the back stabbing and plotting that happened at every turn. It was intriguing to watch all the events unfold as I empathised with all the women having to “share” one husband. I am glad I do not live in those times.

Yingluo was an exceptionally written character. She was placed in many different situations and through it all, her quick wit saved her and those she cared for.

If you only want to watch just one palace drama, this should be the one.

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Disjointed happy ending

These 2 short episodes are purely meant to give some feel good vibes as there is not much continuity or explanation on how the characters found their happy endings.

The ML and FL are suddenly alive and living a loving life with this son…

Would have been better to have a proper full length episode at the end of Part 2 to show how they got to their happy endings instead of releasing these 2 short special episodes later on. Momentum and continuity is lost.

Overall the drama is only average and pales in comparison with the lead’s previous dramas, ie Ashes of Love and Love and Redemption. Better to invest your time in Blue Whisper which I have just starting watching and it is mesmerising so far!

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Understanding, Caring, Supportive Romance

Back to my first love - wuxia and this drama ticks most of what I love about this genre. Gorgeous costumes and breathtaking martial arts.

Story wise, it was good with some interesting little reveals but did not tug at my heartstrings like Untamed or Ten Miles of Peach Blossom. What I enjoyed most was their positive relationship where there was little misunderstandings and hardly any jealousy or love triangles. Both leads were strong characters that helped and supported each other.

Unfortunately, other parts of the story seemed a bit lacking. One annoying one was when someone was assumed to have killed another person just because she was the last one to have met that person… it didn’t matter that these 2 persons were in a close relationship and there was no motive for the murder…

Overall a decent watch if you’re a wuxia fan and have already seen all the popular ones.

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Not as lighthearted as the synopsis promised

After finishing Mr Sunshine, my shattered heart was in need of a lighthearted romantic drama and I thought I found that in this one. I was wrong.

Overall, the story was interesting as a normal drama - nothing fantastic but nothing annoying. But definitely not the “Princess Diaries” feel that I was expecting.

The middle of the drama got quite dark and had lots of sacrifice with tears and assassins when I was looking for more comedy and common girl-to-princess transformation. So do take note of this and perhaps you will end up less disappointed than I was after finishing this drama.

It ended happily and on a light hearted note but could have been more satisfying if it was longer and had more substance.

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Grey’s Anatomy vibes focusing on Heart Specialists

I seldom watch contemporary Chinese dramas but was tempted to try this due to AvenueX’s glowing reviews and I was pleasantly surprised. It reminded me of Grey’s Anatomy and how it goes back and forth between the patients and medical staff’s lives.

The storyline was engaging and I enjoyed the different patients they encountered and tried to help. A good variety of scenarios made for interesting viewing as you also get more curious about the personal lives of the leads. The ML’s acting was spot on as the model doctor who was estranged from his mother as she left him when he was 5. How their relationship gradually improves over time was very realistic and touching.

His love interest was just so-so for me and I pitied him in the end. His girlfriend stalked him and chased him then needed attention from him like a normal boyfriend and when she couldn’t get it, she walked away. Glad to see he wasn’t overly distraught by it and quite realistic as an example of a relationship that doesn’t work out. As for the other couple, it was sweeter in the beginning when they were friends and enjoying each others company.

Great acting all around especially the patients - kudos to the actor who played the unidentified man nicknamed “flower”.

Bad bad bad subs on WeTV - even someone with poor Mandarin skills like myself could spot the mistakes of some easy translations. The most annoying was not even getting the gender right - Ms Zhou kept popping up when referring to the ML! Then for the rest I didn’t understand, the subtitles just didn’t make sense 30% of the time. If I had a better understanding of the story, perhaps my rating would be higher.

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Captivating start but…

it ended not just without an ending but with a feeling of sadness. A double whammy of dislikes for me.

Had the beginning episodes not been so engaging, my rating for this drama would have been lower. The story starts off very strong at episode 1 and I was hooked especially with the dark feel of this drama. So much intrigue and seeing the assassins smartly make their moves kept me glued to my screen. My rating at this point was a 9.

When the ML had his 3 trials, I was fascinated as the storyline on this trials was not what I was expecting as I thought the trials would be more physically related. The chemistry between the leads was nice enough and I enjoyed watching the FL being so dark and serious unlike in her previous drama where she was naive and chirpy.

While having touches of humour are a good idea, I did not appreciate the extreme and absurd way one of the female characters was written. Her over exaggerated movements and lustfulness was too much of a jarring contrast to the overall tone of this drama.

Quite a lot of the story is told in flashback style to give us lots of aha moments so you’ll have to be patient as certain parts of the story are left hanging and makes you wonder if it will be answered later on or become a plot hole. Lots of death and this drama seems to focus on making it as sad and drawn out as possible so it got a bit tiring when it overdid it.

The reveal at the end was good and seeing the whole family come together and that they had each other’s back was one of the highlights. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of how the drama went a step further and made the ending open ended and sad.

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Slow slow pacing . . .

The last few episodes were quite painful to watch as the pacing slowed down to a crawl especially during the climax when the Emperor was being forced to abdicate. Thankfully, it ended very happily for the main couple.

The overall look and feel of the drama was great with nice sets and beautiful costumes with layers of rich fabric. But it suffered mostly due to the draggy pacing. The chemistry between the leads was ok for me but I much preferred the cute romance between the FL’s servant and the ML’s assistant. Not a fan of the slow way that the ML spoke and conducted himself even in private - a bit too reserved for my liking. The FL was pleasant enough but some of her emotional scenes did not tug at my heartstrings.

Luckily I didn’t know much about the story so the twist with the princess was a nice surprise for me. But as the story progressed, I still could not understand the motivations behind her evil actions. Was she really so 2-faced from young or is there a person who can actually be so kind and evil at the same time? I could see how her early suffering could lead her to wanting revenge (which she did get) but I failed to see how it led to her ambitions to take the throne. It all felt very forced since it wasn’t properly fleshed out.

The best part of this drama for me was the first few episodes and the happy ending in the last episode.

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Lovely romance of a married couple

So nice to see a romance start with a couple that is married and see them still in love and comfortable with each other. A nice change from the usual slow burn attraction that takes places over many episodes with a big dash of misunderstandings and jealousies.

And to make it better, there was a unique storyline behind the butterfly curse and the second couple was also interesting to watch! No super evil villain, just a little humour with a disgruntled father. No jealousies.

Loved both couples and their chemistry. The ladies were pretty and the men were handsome so watching this drama was a joy.

Do give this a go if you’re in the mood for romance right from episode 1.

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Sweet romance, comedy and tears

Having 2 sisters betrothed to princes in 2 different realms made for a very interesting start to this drama as the story flips between the Heavenly Realm, all white & bright and the Void Realm, all dark & dreary.

Loved the romance for both couples with the classic misunderstandings done well. The sidekicks for each couple provided lovely touches of humour as they were quick to realise the romance blooming and called it out to their respective masters who were in denial.

Kudos to the female lead who made me feel her grief so deeply that I cried every time she cried. The male lead’s acting shone much more when playing the 3 versions of himself in the Mortal Realm. Watching all 3 versions of him falling in love with the female lead exceeded my romance expectations from a drama. In essence, I got to watch 5 romances in total when most dramas only have 2 (main couple and second couple).

I enjoyed the overall story telling where there were happy outcomes throughout (eg the couples acknowledging and accepting each other and the Emperor of the Human Realm’s love for the female lead) instead of only having everything come together at the end of a drama.

Unfortunately, the ending’s storyline wasn’t my cup of tea as some parts felt more like fillers. Would have been better to cut that away to make way for a nice sweet happy ending instead of leaving it to our imagination.

Extra notes:
1. Good to see gravity working correctly here where the clothes flow upwards when they are “landing” unlike in some dramas that I watched in the past.
2. Annoying to see the bright light during the sweet kiss scenes.

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